jenlee's week 7
Dear family and friends,
the past week has really flown by because it was packed with school and church activities...but I've lots to thank God for, read on :)
1. Presentation on Wed for participatory development communication class went well. We went overtime by a bit, but classmates gave feedback to say that the presentation was not draggy and that it was good. Praise the Lord! The report for the project is due on Thursday and my team is in the midst of putting in finishing touches. Please pray that we will be favourably assessed.
2. Had Lifegroup (LG) on Thursday instead of Fri because we were leaving for Oceania Convention (aka OC, it’s the gathering of all the Hope churches in Australia and New Zealand) on Fri morning. One of the sisters had asked her mother for permission to get baptised and she was going to get the answer after LG ended. We had all been praying along with her.
When she did speak to her mum, she was on the receiving end of some very harsh words. Her mum had thought that she was not really a Christian until she gets baptised, but when my friend explained that she already was a Christian, her mum was furious and said: "You are no longer my daughter". My friend, who once endured three weeks of silence from her mum when she first said that she was a Christian, was devastated. Together with a few other sisters, we comforted her as best we could.
That night I was supposed to stay over at her place so I had more opportunity to be with her. It was a privilege to be able to stand with someone as they go through persecution. I look up to this sister because she continued to find her joy in the Lord even throughout the convention, though she had felt on Thu night that she didn't feel like going anymore. I don’t think her mum has spoken to her since Thu and just now at prayer meeting, my friend asked for prayer for her family so I think things have not improved. Please pray for my friend and her mum, that there will be reconciliation even as my friend remains firm in her faith.
3. OC2010, which was held in Gold Coast (about an hour’s drive away), was pretty amazing. God spoke to me about surrendering my everything, including my future – as it says in Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. He also gave me an assuring word through a stranger (we were asked to pair up with someone we didn’t know and ask God to give us a word/picture for that person).
Although I was a little sleepy during some of the longer messages because I had not been getting enough sleep in the past week (due to intensive course and assignments), the praise-and-worship sessions really ushered in the presence of God.
My friend Sun, who considers himself an occasional atheist, came for one session and he said: “I’ve been to rock concerts where there’s a person there that we sing and engage with, but here there’s no physical person that you’re focusing on but yet the atmosphere is really great.” Indeed, when we lift Jesus up, He will draw all men to Himself. Please continue to pray for Sun and my other friends/neighbours whom I am reaching out to: Nilesh, Daniela, Pimmy, Pthai (coursemates), Sergey (friend I met while diving, he’s from Russia), Huan and Tri (Viet couple who live in Unit 1. I’m in Unit 4). I’ve been asked to share my testimony at LG this Fri, so I plan to take the opportunity to invite as many as possible ☺
4. Thank God that I got to know my LG brothers and sisters better. We had great time playing in the ocean (we did this thing that I would call group surfing, basically hold hands in a circle and when a big wave comes, we all jump at the same time and let the water carry us towards the shore. It’s MEGA fun!). We also had fun cooking, eating and playing card games – Heart Attack and Snap were among the riotously funny ones. I know the video we took of one Heart Attack round will always bring a smile to my face…hmm, maybe I will upload it on Facebook, but I probably have to ask permission first because it will put a serious dent on anyone wanting to hold on to their reputation ☺ I noticed that our group seemed smaller at the end of OC, though the number of people was the same. I think it’s because we’ve grown closer to each other and somehow, we’re more ‘one’ than before when our ‘individualness’ was more apparent. Hope I’m making sense. Anyway, please pray that we’ll continue to spur each other on to hunger for God and spread His passion that we received at OC, to positively impact everyone around us!
5. Today I had a very interesting experience of God’s direction and provision. I was supposed to pick up my food box (I get food from a local community supported agriculture scheme) and then take a 5.30pm bus to my LG’s prayer meeting. . It was the last bus so I had to catch it but I left a bit too late and I ended up at the bus stop four minutes after the printed schedule. Now I was in a dilemma, do I walk home and try to catch another bus service that leaves at 6pm or do I wait to see if the bus I wanted to take was late? If I waited too long, I would miss the 6pm bus and I would be late for the prayer meeting.
So I decided to ask God since only He would know whether the bus had passed. I asked Him to show me through the flipping of a 10-cent coin. His answer: Bus had passed. I started walking back, but the food box was pretty heavy so I was getting worried about getting back on time. Then I saw a man leave a house and get into his car, I got the idea to ask him for a ride. He agreed and I found out that he was actually on his way to Gold Coast (where I had been for OC) and he’s a South African who does solar panels. I managed to get to the 6pm bus on time, with only two minutes to spare. The timing was perfect, if I had started walking back later, I would have missed getting the ride. If not for the unnamed “angel” from South Africa (I didn’t have time to ask his name, but he’s kind of “tailor-made” for me in a sense, with the Gold Coast connection and solar power appealing to my inner greenie), I would have been late.
Thank God for hearing my prayer for getting to prayer meeting on time! Don’t worry, I won’t make this a regular habit – next time I will leave early enough ☺ But prayer wouldn’t hurt, so please pray for effective time management for me, especially since I have a big assignment due next Monday for my communication research class. It’s worth 40 per cent of my grade and I’ve not really started on it much, so ya, lots of prayer needed!
That’s all from me for this week. Thank you for reading and for praying!
Let me know if I can pray over anything in your life ☺
Take care and God bless,
jenlee
the past week has really flown by because it was packed with school and church activities...but I've lots to thank God for, read on :)
1. Presentation on Wed for participatory development communication class went well. We went overtime by a bit, but classmates gave feedback to say that the presentation was not draggy and that it was good. Praise the Lord! The report for the project is due on Thursday and my team is in the midst of putting in finishing touches. Please pray that we will be favourably assessed.
2. Had Lifegroup (LG) on Thursday instead of Fri because we were leaving for Oceania Convention (aka OC, it’s the gathering of all the Hope churches in Australia and New Zealand) on Fri morning. One of the sisters had asked her mother for permission to get baptised and she was going to get the answer after LG ended. We had all been praying along with her.
When she did speak to her mum, she was on the receiving end of some very harsh words. Her mum had thought that she was not really a Christian until she gets baptised, but when my friend explained that she already was a Christian, her mum was furious and said: "You are no longer my daughter". My friend, who once endured three weeks of silence from her mum when she first said that she was a Christian, was devastated. Together with a few other sisters, we comforted her as best we could.
That night I was supposed to stay over at her place so I had more opportunity to be with her. It was a privilege to be able to stand with someone as they go through persecution. I look up to this sister because she continued to find her joy in the Lord even throughout the convention, though she had felt on Thu night that she didn't feel like going anymore. I don’t think her mum has spoken to her since Thu and just now at prayer meeting, my friend asked for prayer for her family so I think things have not improved. Please pray for my friend and her mum, that there will be reconciliation even as my friend remains firm in her faith.
3. OC2010, which was held in Gold Coast (about an hour’s drive away), was pretty amazing. God spoke to me about surrendering my everything, including my future – as it says in Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. He also gave me an assuring word through a stranger (we were asked to pair up with someone we didn’t know and ask God to give us a word/picture for that person).
Although I was a little sleepy during some of the longer messages because I had not been getting enough sleep in the past week (due to intensive course and assignments), the praise-and-worship sessions really ushered in the presence of God.
My friend Sun, who considers himself an occasional atheist, came for one session and he said: “I’ve been to rock concerts where there’s a person there that we sing and engage with, but here there’s no physical person that you’re focusing on but yet the atmosphere is really great.” Indeed, when we lift Jesus up, He will draw all men to Himself. Please continue to pray for Sun and my other friends/neighbours whom I am reaching out to: Nilesh, Daniela, Pimmy, Pthai (coursemates), Sergey (friend I met while diving, he’s from Russia), Huan and Tri (Viet couple who live in Unit 1. I’m in Unit 4). I’ve been asked to share my testimony at LG this Fri, so I plan to take the opportunity to invite as many as possible ☺
4. Thank God that I got to know my LG brothers and sisters better. We had great time playing in the ocean (we did this thing that I would call group surfing, basically hold hands in a circle and when a big wave comes, we all jump at the same time and let the water carry us towards the shore. It’s MEGA fun!). We also had fun cooking, eating and playing card games – Heart Attack and Snap were among the riotously funny ones. I know the video we took of one Heart Attack round will always bring a smile to my face…hmm, maybe I will upload it on Facebook, but I probably have to ask permission first because it will put a serious dent on anyone wanting to hold on to their reputation ☺ I noticed that our group seemed smaller at the end of OC, though the number of people was the same. I think it’s because we’ve grown closer to each other and somehow, we’re more ‘one’ than before when our ‘individualness’ was more apparent. Hope I’m making sense. Anyway, please pray that we’ll continue to spur each other on to hunger for God and spread His passion that we received at OC, to positively impact everyone around us!
5. Today I had a very interesting experience of God’s direction and provision. I was supposed to pick up my food box (I get food from a local community supported agriculture scheme) and then take a 5.30pm bus to my LG’s prayer meeting. . It was the last bus so I had to catch it but I left a bit too late and I ended up at the bus stop four minutes after the printed schedule. Now I was in a dilemma, do I walk home and try to catch another bus service that leaves at 6pm or do I wait to see if the bus I wanted to take was late? If I waited too long, I would miss the 6pm bus and I would be late for the prayer meeting.
So I decided to ask God since only He would know whether the bus had passed. I asked Him to show me through the flipping of a 10-cent coin. His answer: Bus had passed. I started walking back, but the food box was pretty heavy so I was getting worried about getting back on time. Then I saw a man leave a house and get into his car, I got the idea to ask him for a ride. He agreed and I found out that he was actually on his way to Gold Coast (where I had been for OC) and he’s a South African who does solar panels. I managed to get to the 6pm bus on time, with only two minutes to spare. The timing was perfect, if I had started walking back later, I would have missed getting the ride. If not for the unnamed “angel” from South Africa (I didn’t have time to ask his name, but he’s kind of “tailor-made” for me in a sense, with the Gold Coast connection and solar power appealing to my inner greenie), I would have been late.
Thank God for hearing my prayer for getting to prayer meeting on time! Don’t worry, I won’t make this a regular habit – next time I will leave early enough ☺ But prayer wouldn’t hurt, so please pray for effective time management for me, especially since I have a big assignment due next Monday for my communication research class. It’s worth 40 per cent of my grade and I’ve not really started on it much, so ya, lots of prayer needed!
That’s all from me for this week. Thank you for reading and for praying!
Let me know if I can pray over anything in your life ☺
Take care and God bless,
jenlee
posted by thejenlee at 10:42 AM
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